


Damsel in Distress

by ImOutOfMyVulcanMind (LoopyLu94)



Series: Tumblr Celebration Stories [8]
Category: Almost Human
Genre: F/M, a couple swears, accident prone reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-12
Updated: 2017-12-12
Packaged: 2019-02-13 23:03:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12994440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoopyLu94/pseuds/ImOutOfMyVulcanMind
Summary: Reader is having an increasingly bad day. Luckily, the same knight in shining armour keeps coming to her rescue.





	Damsel in Distress

“That’ll be $3.45,” the young barista behind the counter told you. **  
**

“Right,” you said to yourself more than to the barista, and reached into your pocket to dig out your bitcoin stick, only to find it empty. “Don’t do this. Not today,” you muttered under your breath, starting to frantically search the rest of your pockets, and then your bag. This couldn’t be happening. On any other day you’d just run back to your apartment, but snow had fallen overnight, and with a blizzard also starting to pick up, many roads were closed, and those that weren’t, were blocked. The only reason you were even out in this worsening weather was because you had a major project coming up at work and you needed to go in to finalise some details.

“Ma’am?” The barista asked with a raised eyebrow, while you became aware of the growing grumbling from the queue behind you.

Resigning yourself to a morning in a cold office without your hot chocolate to warm you up, you opened your mouth to cancel your order and leave.

“I’ve got this,” a male voice spoke from behind you, an arm swiftly stretching over your shoulder to hand their stick over.

“Thank you,” you breathed in relief, turning to face the man behind you. You were met with a tall, dark haired figure, who had the most gorgeous eyes you’d ever seen. Fuck, he was hot.

The man chuckled, eyes sparkling. “Not a problem, happens to all of us.”

You chuckled in response, “I guess so.” You turned and grabbed your drink once it was placed on the counter, and stepped out of the way. You found you wanted to stay, and talk to the man some more, but that would probably just be seen as weird, so you should really just take your leave. “But thanks again anyway.” You raised your cup in a mock cheers, then turned and made your way back out into the blizzard.

~

By lunchtime the blizzard had gotten worse, but still, a girl needed to eat, and with no one else in your office, it was down to you to venture back out and pick some food up. You were just glad that there was a place within walking distance, that both served hot food, and allowed you to pay through an app on your cell.

The walk there hadn’t been that bad, but you hadn’t counted on that when you walked back, you’d have to do so against the wind. Each step was a fight, and as you used one hand to keep the hat on your head from blowing off, you really wished that you had just given in, and driven the five minutes.

Risking a glance up, you blinked away the snow to see that you were close to your office building. Just a few more steps, and you’d be insi-

“Oomph!” You groaned, hitting the ground with a thud. You blinked down at the snow covered side-walk, staying still more out of shock than anything else.

“Ma’am, are you alright?” A voice that you recognised asked you, the body it belonged to crouching down next to you.

You took a quick second to assess. A couple of places ached, but you weren’t in any real pain. “I’m fine,” you answered.

“Let me help you up.” Strong hands grasped you securely, and pulled you to your feet.

You were a little unsteady, but the man seemed to sense that, so his hands stayed on you until you were. “Thanks,” you smiled, finally looking up at your rescuer. As soon as your eyes met, you felt the blood rush to your cheeks. It was the same man from this morning. “Again.”

The man laughed when he made you too. “Not a problem. Again.” He grinned at you. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

You looked down at yourself. “I’m not sure my ego will make it, but the rest of me is fine,” you chuckled, brushing the snow off your jacket.

“I’m sure your ego will recover just fine. It was only a little bump.” The man smiled warmly at you. “Where are you heading to? I’ll take you.”

“Oh no, no, that’s really not necessary. My building is literally right there,” you told him, gesturing to the doorway you’d been heading to.

He looked at you closely, supposedly trying to determine if you were telling him the truth or not. “Look, I’m a cop. It’s perfectly safe for you to get in a car with me.” He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a badge, holding it up for you to see.

The badge certainly looked real, but it was the ID you were more interested in. “Impressive, but I really don’t think you’re some weirdo axe-murderer. That is actually my office, Detective.”

“Good eyes. But call me John.”

“John.” You smiled with a nod. “Y/N Y/L/N.” You hesitated a moment, debating on whether or not to ask if John wanted to go get a coffee sometime, but you never had been good at telling if someone was as interested in you as you were in them, and you didn’t think you could handle anymore embarrassment in one day. “I have to get back to work. See you around.”

“See ya.”

You walked away from John, thankfully making it back to your building with no more incident, but all the way you felt John watch you. You glanced over your shoulder just as you reached the door, seeing John leaning against what you assumed to be his car, and smiled before going inside.

~

It was pitch black outside by the time you deemed your project finished to your standard, and the wind was howling viciously. At least the snow had actually eased a little, which was something. You’d stayed far later than your usual hours, so now even the blocked roads from that morning were deserted, leaving you alone on the roads as you drove home.

Or tried to at least.

You were only about halfway home when your car hit a particularly nasty patch of ice and started to skid out of your control.

“Fuck!” You cursed, as you tried everything you could to regain control, but nothing worked and you continued to slide helplessly. You saw the rapidly approaching streetlight only moments before your car slammed straight into it.

You groaned as the impact jerked you harshly, your seatbelt digging into you and pushing you back into your seat. You stayed slumped in your seat for a couple of minutes, trying to catch your breath and calm yourself down, before taking stock of the situation. Other than an ache from where the belt had dug in, you weren’t hurt. Unfortunately you couldn’t say the same for your car. You’d hit the light head on, and the front of your car was a wrecked mess.

Sighing, you fumbled with your belt, releasing it, then grabbed your bag before you got out. The wind bit into you, and you tried to keep your jacket clamped tightly around you as you rummaged in your bag for your cellphone.

“Are you kidding me?” You muttered when you switched on the device only to be greeted by a small x at the top of the screen. No signal. The wind must have knocked something or other out. With another frustrated sigh, you flung the device back into your bag. The stretch of road you were on wasn’t near anywhere, and even thinking about trying to walk somewhere in this weather was a stupidly dangerous thing to. You’d have to wait for someone else to come along, but at this time of night who knew when that was going to be?

Tucking your hands under your arms to try and keep them warm, you leaned against your car, and resigned yourself to having to wait.

You weren’t sure how long you’d been waiting before you finally heard the sound of another engine, but you knew you were freezing. You stuck an arm out, waving it, and hoping the person driving would have the decency to stop. Thankfully, the car slowed to a stop, but when you caught a look of who was inside, you weren’t sure whether to laugh, cry, or jump back into your car and hide in embarrassment.

“Y/N? Are you okay? What happened?” John asked as soon as he was out of the door, sprinting over to you.

“I’m fine. I…I skidded on some ice, lost control, and…” You gestured towards the wreck that was your car, and sighed. “I tried calling for help, but I couldn’t get a signal.”

John nodded as he listened you, “That’s not a problem, I can call it in through the police radio. Are you sure you’re okay?” John reached to tuck a loose strand of hair behind your ear. “Jesus, you’re like ice. C’mon, let’s get in my car.”

You didn’t argue, letting John guide you gently to the passenger side of his car and help you in. It was blissfully warm inside, and you melted back against the seat, letting yourself thaw out as John called in the incident and asked for a tow truck to come and get your car.

“Right. Someone will be out to get your car soon, and in the meantime, I’m taking you to the hospital to get checked out,” John told you, starting up his engine.

You shook your head, “No, John, I’m fine. I just want to go home.”

“Y/N, you’ve been in a crash. We need to make sure that you haven’t hurt yourself. I’m not taking no for an answer. Police orders.”

“Fine,” you conceded, “but I really am fine. You’d know if I wasn’t.”

John raised an eyebrow, glancing over at you briefly. “Oh?”

“It seems that whenever I’m ill or hurt, my voice filter disappears and I say the first thing that comes to mind.”

“And what would that be right now?”

You smiled, tempted to say that you thought he was sexy when he pulled rank on you. Instead, you laughed, “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

John laughed, “Maybe one day I’ll convince you to tell me.”

“Maybe,” you smiled, closing your eyes.

You must have dozed off, because the next thing you knew the car had pulled to a stop, and John was tapping you on the shoulder. “Hey there, sleepy head. Thought I was going to have to carry you in.”

You chuckled, rubbing your eyes as you straightened up. “I’m good,” you murmured.

John nodded, helping you out of the car anyway. “I’ve called in a favor with a buddy of mine, so you’re getting seen to straightaway.”

“You didn’t have to, you’ve done enough for me today already.”

John shrugged as he walked you in, “To protect and serve. And you’ve really needed protecting today.”

You laughed in agreement, “That is true. I swear I’m not usually this much of a damsel in distress.”

“It’s okay. I quite like being your knight in shining armour.”

“Oh,” you blushed, ducking your head.

John chuckled softly, and came to a stop in front of one of the rooms. “Doc? Kennex.” He called with a knock to the door.

“Come in!” A voice from the other side called.

John motioned with his head, “Go on in. I’ll wait here to give you a ride home once you’re done.”

You smiled shyly, “Okay,” you murmured, before turning away from John and entering the exam room.

The Doctor inside was friendly enough, and was quick, but thorough in his examination, making sure you were okay, nothing more than a few bruises, and an even more damaged ego than you already had, before telling you he needed to make sure your system was clean. You nodded your assent, already expecting it, and not caring because you knew you were good. It didn’t take much longer after that. The Doctor gave you some painkillers to help with your aches, then told you were good to go. He left the room, while you pulled your jacket back on.

You were just getting up when John came in, and smiled to you. “Heard that you’re okay.”

“Yeah,” you smiled back, “and clean.”

John laughed with a slight inclination of his head. “Had to make sure. And I’ve already pulled the camera footage so I know you weren’t speeding. Everything’s fine.” He offered you his arm. “Escort you back to my car, ma’am?”

You chuckled, taking John’s arm and walking with him. He drove you home with the pair of you sitting in a companionable silence. A thought flickered across your mind that you should try to make conversation. After all, you were still very much interested in your impromptu hero, and after all the strings he’d pulled tonight, you were starting to guess he was interested in you. But it was ridiculously late, and after the day you’d had, the thought of making idle chitchat was exhausting. John didn’t seem to mind however, simply humming along quietly to the music he had playing.

When he finally pulled up outside your building, John told you to stay put until he came around to help you out. You rolled your eyes initially, but as soon as you had both feet on the ground, you slipped, and would’ve ended up on your butt if John hadn’t grabbed you. He gave you a look that was half amused, half exasperated, and shook his head with a smile. “Think I’d better see you up to your apartment.”

“That might be best,” you admitted, letting John help steady you, then guide you inside. Mercifully, your building had an elevator that was actually working, so you didn’t have to face the very likely disaster that would be the stairs, and unlocked your apartment door once you reached it.

“You going to be okay, now?”John asked, leaning against the doorframe.

“Yeah. I’m so tired, that I’m just going to go straight to bed,” you chuckled. “Thank you, for today. Not quite sure what I would’ve done without you.”

“Anytime, Y/N. Someone will be in touch tomorrow with what you need to do next about your car.”

“Alright,” you smiled, and John smiled warmly back. In the light of your apartment, you could see something in John’s eyes that looked to be both affection and attraction, and you bit the inside of your cheek as you contemplated what to do. The last thing you wanted to do was miss this opportunity, but you were hopeless with flirting and admitting feelings. But you had to do something. Taking a deep breath, you steeled yourself. “Are you free Saturday?”

John raised an eyebrow, another smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he nodded. “Yeah. I am, in fact.”

This was good. He must’ve known what train of thought you were going along, surely? And if he wasn’t interested, then he would’ve just said he was busy. Right? “Good. That’s good. I, um, I thought maybe I could show you I’m not always just a klutz by dinner. I mean, cooking dinner. For you. For us. Together.” Well that went well.

“If you’re asking me over for dinner Saturday night, then yes,” John chuckled.

“Oh,” you breathed in relief. “Okay. Cool.”

“You really just say cool?” John asked, obviously trying to hide his amusement.

“Shush, you. I’ve had a long day.”

“Don’t think I can do that. You’re cute when you’re flustered.”

You felt the heat rise to your cheeks at John’s words, but couldn’t help give a small smile as you took a step closer to John. He was looking at you fondly, body language open and leaning towards you slightly. You licked your lips, noticing how his eyes followed the movement. You took another breath, and leaned in with the intent of pressing a quick kiss to John’s lips.

Unfortunately, John had the same idea at the same time, so instead of kissing, your noses just smashed together.

John huffed a quiet laugh, and reached up to cup your cheek with one hand, keeping your head still as he titled his own. You closed your eyes as his lips met yours in the soft, gentle kiss, and let yourself melt into it when John wrapped his free arm around your waist while you placed your hands on his shoulders. It was slow and lazy, and left you feeling giddy when John reluctantly pulled away.

“I’ll see you Saturday,” he murmured quietly, brushing his knuckles down the side of your face. “Get some rest.”

“Okay,” you murmured back, stepping away and taking hold of the door. “Bye.”

John responded with a wink that did a funny little thing to you. “Bye.”

John turned away, and you locked your door behind him before leaning back against it. Saturday couldn’t come quick enough.    


End file.
